WARWICK – Catholic medical professionals were urged on Monday evening to be rich in what matters to God and join the Church in its advocacy for a health care reform package that is inclusive to all Americans and is respectful of the deep-seeded beliefs of practitioners.
The message was delivered at the annual celebration of the White Mass at St. Timothy Church, which honors the works of Catholics in the medical field. Organized by the Rhode Island Catholic Medical Association, the Mass was particularly timely, coming amidst the backdrop of a contentious debate over health care reform.
Traditionally, celebrants wear white vestments for the White Mass, however, red is worn on the Feast of the North American Martyrs.
Falling this year on the Feast of the Martyrs, celebrants were draped in red vestments to honor the 17th century martyrdom of six priests of the Society of Jesus and their two lay companions who set out to spread the teachings of the Church to the native inhabitants of what is today the United States and Canada.
Among those martyred was St. Isaac Jogues, whose words inspired the homily given by Father Bernard A. Healey.
With Bishop Thomas J. Tobin presiding, and several hospital Catholic chaplains, Father Healey, pastor at St. Ambrose Parish in Lincoln and the chief lobbyist for the diocese on Smith Hill, espoused the virtues of “being rich in what matters to God.”
“Each of us have been given unique gifts and talents which we have nurtured over the years. And I dare say that those that have gathered here tonight for this White Mass – doctors, nurses, medical professionals – have been given the great gift of healing,” Father Healey said. “The gospel reminds us that whatever our gifts, we must always freely use and give them out on behalf of another.”
In celebrating both the White Mass and the North American Martyrs, Father. Healey added that it is important to “be reminded of those that first gave their lives for their faith on this continent.”
And with a contentious battle over health care reform taking place in Washington, D.C., it is only fitting to note that St. Rene Goupil, a laymen and surgeon, was the first to be martyred in what is now the United States.
“We as a nation are in the midst of a great debate surrounding health care,” Father Healey said. “Our leaders in Washington are on the threshold of passing a reform bill that may radically alter the way the health care is delivered in our land. And tonight we must stand together and stand fast with our bishops who are our shepherds and teachers, and join with them in calling for a reform that includes all citizens – rich and poor, born and unborn, young and old, fit and infirm, native and newly arrived.”
“Our conscience, and your consciences in the medical profession, must be respected in all reforms of the law. And the needs of the vulnerable and the sick mustn't simply be cut out and left on the floor of the U.S. Capitol,” he added.
With the debate over a final reform package not expected until the end of the year, Father Healey asserted the Church’s stance on three critical issues: the exclusion of mandated federal funding for abortions, a provision that would provide new immigrants the same coverage as citizens, and guaranteed care for those living in poverty.
“There can be no compromise in the protection of human life; there can be no compromise in protecting the conscience of medical professionals who hold deep moral faith beliefs; there can be no compromise in caring for those who are newly arrived to our shores; there can be no compromise in providing for those who live in poverty,” he said. “Our leaders in Washington must not compromise on such vital and moral measures. And we must remind them that real reform can only be real and authentic if it is rich in what matters to God.”
The Catholic Church has long been an advocate for meaningful health care reform, but at no time in the last 15 years has there been such a concerted effort made on the federal level to move a bill toward passage.
And while the debate has been divisive and drawn out, the persistence of those advocating for reform is reminiscent of St. Isaac Jogues, who Father Healey described as “perhaps the most remarkable” among the North American Martyrs.
A French Jesuit missionary, St. Isaac Jogues was among the first Europeans to travel to the new world to preach the Gospel to its inhabitants. Together, along with his party of seven others, he made his way to French Canada and what is today upstate New York, where he preached to the Huron tribe. Eventually he was captured by the rival Mohawks, where he was tortured for over a year and kept as a slave, finally escaping to the island of Manhattan – the first Catholic priest to step foot there.
From there, he returned to his native France where just three months later he insisted on resuming his mission, only to be captured again, returned to the site of his previous internment, and brutally murdered.
According to Father Healey, “he possessed a clear knowledge that what he was building was far larger and more important than he. St. Isaac Jogues, was rich in what matters to God.”
“Always be rich in what matters to God,” Father Healey said, adding, “Our success as individuals, as medical professionals, but also our success as a nation, must be measured in how we act in what matters to God.”
